Optic fiber connectors commonly include a housing with one or more through passages that each holds a ferrule that is biased forwardly by a spring. An alignment sleeve may lie at the front of the passage, to align the tips of the terminus ferrule and of a mating ferrule device. The tip of the ferrule is commonly moved rearwardly, against the force of the spring, from a position about one-third of the way from the front end of the alignment sleeve to a position halfway from the front end, when the mating ferrule device is inserted into the sleeve. The alignment sleeve, which is generally formed of a ceramic for high precision, has a slot that allows it to expand to tightly grasp the ferrules lying within it. This requires a large spring force such as 2.5 pounds for a ferrule of about 1.6 mm diameter. A spring of appreciable length is used to maintain a substantially constant forward force on the terminus while it slides between the two above-mentioned positions.
Occasionally, the tips of ferrules must be cleaned. Since the tip of one ferrule lies deep within the alignment sleeve, it can be difficult to clean the tip. Cleaning is required to remove dust particles, etc. that would prevent the tips of the ferrules from precisely abutting one another or that can scratch them. An optic fiber connector that facilitated cleaning of the ferrule tips by allowing much greater ferrule movement between its extreme positions, while still providing some protection for the ferrule tips when not mated to other ferrules, and while minimizing the extra length of the connector required for a longer spring to maintain a constant force on the terminus, would be of value.